WATCH: Find Your Swiss Bliss With a Whimsical Bike Ride Through the Oberland

There is simply no better way to explore a new country than by bike, especially when that country is Switzerland. Luckily with some help from MySwitzerland and SwissTrails, I able to spend three-days cycling along the Lakes Route that stretches from French Montreux on Lake Geneva to Bad Horn in the northeastern border of the country.

The alpine nation has always held a special place in my heart. It’s where the Baur family name comes from, so you all have Switzerland to thank for my existence. Please, hold your admiration until the end, folks.

In reality I’m mostly an ancestral mutt at this point, but I’ve always most identified with my Swiss roots. After cycling the country, I can see why. The smooth countryside roads, the historic and walkable cities, the trains, the mountainous outdoors — this feels like home. The Swiss live the way I try to live in the States.

This particular excursion takes my bride-to-be Melanie and me through the Bernese Oberland to tourist-favorite Luzern. We begin in Gruyères after a night of fondue in the medieval town, still perfectly constructed after all these centuries. Though I guess staying out of Europe’s wars — of which there have been quite a few since humans first started getting all stabby — will do that.

The following morning had us snaking through rural farms with the sound of cow bells chiming across the Swiss countryside. Naturally this came with the, shall we say, unique smell that comes with cows. Thankfully it was just the right amount to let you know you’re in the country without necessitating nose plugs. In fact, I’m pretty sure we swallowed more than a few flies. And it’s hard not to deduce where those flies probably just came from.

I think that officially makes us Swiss citizens, no?

Moving along, we used mountain trains to get through the particularly difficult climbs, which offered panoramic views no writer can properly describe. Of course we hardly avoided many serious climbs. This is the freakin’ Alps, after all.

We end the first day in Schönried, typically a ski town just a train stop away from Gstaad — a place that is exactly what you want a small town to be. Great architecture, colorful and walkable.

Snowcapped mountains stood tall from our back patio at the Ermitage Hotel. You just want to sit here for hours, staring at the breathtaking view as you swear to yourself that you’ll never complain about anything again.

Rising early, we headed toward Lake Thun, skirting along the coastline toward Interlaken. Though rather than spend the night in quite possibly Switzerland’s most touristy town, we continued along Lake Brienz to the small coastal village of Iseltwald where we were able to enjoy another quiet night at the Strandhotel with seafood and passing ships that connect the various towns on opposite ends of the lake.

On our third morning, we awoke to damp weather unlike anything we had experienced the previous two days. Though all things considered, it was hardly an obstacle. In fact, the cool mist added to the experience as we pedaled through Swiss forests on a mixture of paved roads and dirt trail. Early on in the day’s ride, we came up behind what I can only assume was a family of ranchers escorting their herd up the mountain. Some German would have come in handy here, so hopefully we did the right thing by slowly tip-toeing our way around the cows to continue on our final leg. This, of course, was followed by one of the most difficult climbs I have ever encountered — right up there with my Ronde van Vlaanderen experience.

But the payoff of the Giessbach Waterfall was worth it all. This thing tumbles over 14 stages, so please excuse me for not being able to get this wondrous, thundering creation into one shot.

Using a mixture of trains and our bikes, we ended our three-day bike trip through the Oberland in Luzern, which expat writer Diccon Bewes calls Switzerland’s prettiest city in his book Swiss Watching. It’s easy to see why with the city’s sense of fantastic architecture that should leave any city planner jealous. Not to mention the city has done an excellent job in keeping cars out of squares originally built for pedestrians.

Speaking of those metal death-boxes, cycling Switzerland opened the country up to us in a way a car never could. It’s a much more intimate experience. And with the climbs, it makes you feel like you earned the experience in some strange way. By the end, you’ll already be planning your return.

Except next time, methinks I’ll be taking on the entire route.

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